CPAP Machine Making Tinnitus Worse?

Hello, I am new here. As long as I can remember, I've always had tinnitus. No known cause. It seems to run in my family. It has never really bothered me much, it's always been pretty low humming.

However, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and they gave me a CPAP machine.

I started using it and within a week my tinnitus got incredibly loud.

I was wondering if anyone's tinnitus got worse with CPAP therapy for sleep apnea?

Thank you.

 

If anything I would think it would make it better, because you'd be getting more oxygen to the brain and better sleep. And better sleep also means better coping skills.

Anything else happen within the past week?

 

Yes the doctor also gave me a mandibular advancement device to also help with my sleep apnea .it advances my lower jaw forward. it does leave my jaw joints sore and my jaw is forward for a few hours after I take the device out in the morning before it moves back to where it belongs.

 

So, with all that, how's your sleep?

Maybe with all those changes you're not resting well enough.

 

I am new to the forum and was searching for "CPAP" because I have the same symptoms. Sometimes I wake up to go to the bathroom and my tinnitus is screaming. Most days My tinnitus has increased because of the CPAP. I too have had tinnitus for many years. The CPAP is a life saver and has changed my life. I have a lot more energy now. I am not giving it up. Putting my hearing aids in the morning and using the masker helps me from just giving up. My ear doctor had no clue why the CPAP would increase my tinnitus.

 

Ok, this is an interesting thread. My tinnitus has just gone through the roof. I've been using a CPAP for a couple of years now and have had a terrific result with it BUT this recent development is proving horribly debilitating. I recently changed the breathing apparatus used on the cpap and I'm thinking that may have been the issue so I'm now changing back to the older one to see if that improves the situation. The tinnitus I'm experiencing now has become unmanageable and seriously distressing whereas previously I lived with it comfortably. I'm also experiencing, during bad attacks of this 'thing', some dizziness and it's also really hard to think when it's hammering. Today was a particularly bad day and I've had a number of these now during the last couple of months. The situation is worsening and becoming far more distressing!

 

What breathing apparatus did you change from and to? I have used the Wisp nasal cushion since I started the CPAP in 12/2015. My tinnitus is screaming and I am sleeping well. I used to think my tinnitus was sleep related. I don't know what I would do without the masker on my hearing aids.

 

You might want to talk to the people who setup the parameters in your machine. It’s possible the pressure is causing Otic barotrauma which is very similar to what happens when you can’t get your ears to equalize when an airplane is descending for landing. I have a friend who experienced this and it required further adjusting of his CPAP pressures. The unequal pressure might be causing your tinnitus to spike.

 

I have had tinnitus in my right ear for the last few years and it’s accompanied with some hyperacusis too. I noticed, if I fall asleep with the TV on or even a window open, I will wake up with a disturbing tinnitus.

Since I have EDT in my right ear, the tinnitus seems to be connected to that. I also get post nasal drip, the only thing that really helps me, is the NetiPot, which I use when it gets really bad and that calms down the tinnitus quite a bit.

I have sleep apnea and need to use a CPAP machine, but the sound of the air, seems to elevate my tinnitus to much higher levels that I’ve ever had, so much that I cannot use the CPAP as the tinnitus is so bad. Once I stopped, the tinnitus calmed down, although not to the pre CPAP level.

Usually, I cope with my tinnitus, it does not disturb me to fall asleep, I don’t need any external help like masking with other sounds.

I was wondering, if anyone can advise.

Was thinking of two options, 1) get a good quality custom made ear plug, that might cut out the CPAP machine sound or 2) sound masking with other sounds, though with my hypercusis, that might make it worse.


Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Bump...

Very curious about this. Neurologist ordered a sleep study. I'm pretty sure I have sleep apnea but I'm not liking what I read on here and the net. What are your experiences using CPAP machines and increase in tinnitus?

Thanks in advance.

 

I have been using a CPAP for one year and I have not had issues with my tinnitus. I will choose to sleep with my bad ear into the pillow if it is feeling irritated. High quality sleep will make dealing with your tinnitus much easier, I recommend using a CPAP if you have OSA.

 

Thank you. Much appreciated. Usually on the internet you just hear of horror stories.

Nice to hear it's working. Makes me hopeful.

 

It’s very interesting reading everyone’s experiences. Mine is the complete opposite.

I just started using a ResMed AirSense 11. I was recently diagnosed with severe apnea. When setting up the machine I downloaded the app & it advised me to do a test breathing.

I clicked the start button on the app and the machine started the pressure off slowly then it increased to 10. The test breathing was very brief but when I was done. My tinnitus was through the roof! This was in the daytime.

When it was time to sleep at night. I tried it, my ear was pumping hard. I was nervous. I eventually fell asleep, I woke up & to my shocking surprise my severe tinnitus went from a scale of 10 dropped to a 3!

For years I’ve suffered with tinnitus and the whooshing sound level as always been very loud.

I was confused of why my tinnitus whooshing sound decreased so much by using the CPAP machine. I started frantically googling to see if there’s any correlation between tinnitus & CPAP machines and came across this forum.

One other thing I noticed when started using the machine. I started urinating a lot. I now make multiple trips to the bathroom.

So my tinnitus improved significantly when using the CPAP machine . The pressure is set at 4.4-4.6

And since using the CPAP machine. The need to urinate through the night increased.

To summarize: My tinnitus improved a lot when using my CPAP machine. But I’m now dealing with having to make frequent trips to urinate at night.

I’m waiting for my next appointment to discuss this with my doctor to see if she have any explanation for this.

 

The CPAP machines will generate noise all night long when used. The tinnitus will be worse in the AM after that exposure. You need a quieter CPAP machine, or try earplugs at night.

 

CPAP machines are super quiet, though. A spike wouldn't be caused by noise exposure, and I wouldn't recommend using earplugs every night for that purpose.

 

My two cents: I've been using earplugs every night for four or five years and haven't had any issues because of it. I asked a few doctors I've seen if earplugs would cause problems while sleeping and they all said no, though I take doctors' opinions with a grain of salt these days.

 

Hi all.

I've had tinnitus for 16 years and been using CPAP for 10 years.

My tinnitus goes through the roof if I sleep without the CPAP machine.

 

I have been using a CPAP for for 3 years and has not affected my tinnitus either way...fortunately....However, I can be a site having my CPAP gear on & having my ear buds in to help me fall asleep...I look like some kind of cosmonaut....

 

I don't know the decibels, but CPAP machines are not super quiet. Spikes of tinnitus are definitely caused by noise exposure.

 

From what I've seen, they are nearly all between 25 - 30 dBA. I only know this because I suspect I may have SA based on a sleep monitoring app. The old ones from many years ago used to be about 70 dBA.

 

Given enough sensitivity to sound, which is by no means far fetched, you can definitely spike to 25 - 30 dBA sound, especially if there's a greater sensitivity for such frequencies or continuous sound.

Stacken

 

Lol @Ed209, I'm surprised you didn't address @Digital Doc misrepresenting you on this.

For the record, @Ed209 was definitely not saying noise exposure does not cause spikes, he was saying that in the case of using a CPAP machine, the noise of it would not be loud enough that using it would be the cause of any current tinnitus spike you were experiencing.

I think if I had done this @Ed209, you would definitely have corrected me and clarified your position. You're losing your touch mate.

 

This is about the threshold of an average quiet room. You can't really get much quieter than 25 dBA in normal conditions. To get any quieter you'd need to go into an anechoic chamber (they measure around 10 - 20 dBA). The quietest anechoic chamber is about - 9 dBA (I think). At that level, you can hear the sounds of bodily functions and most people can't stay for long because it freaks them out.

Yea, that's what I meant. You can definitely spike if you've got a noisy racket of a machine right next to your head all night for 8 hours.

There's time yet

 

I may be confusing the different dB scales, but for instance, my Noctua fans is by specification around 22 dB/A and that would definitely spike me if I wouldn't use hearing protection. But I digress.

 

I understand what you're saying, and you're right, the Noctuas are specced at 22.6 dBA when they are at full speed (1500 rpm). For all intents and purposes, though, they are near silent.

When you measure the sound of quiet a room, you may get a reading of say, 27 dBA, but you might still hear the ticking of a clock in the background and this can be amplified in your brain quite easily, especially at night if you're trying to sleep. This is the domain of psychoacoustics, where the brain's interpretation of various sounds (particularly different frequencies) is completely different. You could measure two different sounds on a decibel meter and get the same reading, but this wouldn't necessarily translate well into how loud you would perceive the sounds.

I know this is a bit cheesy and cliched, but if you knew there was a clock ticking at 30 dBA, it would be one thing, but if you knew it was a bomb and you were in a locked room, it'd probably become so loud in your perception that it'd feel more like 90 dBA.

 

I looked into it further, and CPAP machines are about 30 dB, which is pretty quiet. I have never used one, but we have them at the hospital, and they seem louder to me with all the oxygen flowing. Also, as a machine ages, I would think that they would also get a little louder. Also, some pitches can be more bothersome.

In my experience, even low sounds at night can cause issues. When I slept next to a heater running all night, I would wake up with ear fullness, so I think the same thing could happen with a CPAP.

 

+1 for spikes from Noctua fan - I have my PC outside my room for this reason. Some people here don't understand how sensitive some of us are because they haven't experienced it. Honestly people need to stfu - if the dude is spiking to his CPAP maybe take his first-hand experience as hard data which is more valid than some generalist dogma.

 

You think I should shut the fuck up for just saying that CPAP machines are near-silent? I have random spikes all the time like most people here (it comes with the territory of this condition), but that seems a bit harsh! I made my point because I strongly disagree that people should be concerned about 25 dBA. It's far more likely that disrupted sleep would be the culprit or it could just be a random anomaly that's benign. I could blame all kinds of stuff for my spikes, but I gave up trying to figure it out years ago because it's a minefield and you start to realise that anything can trigger it from bad thoughts, to sheer randomness based on nothing (even food and drink for some).

People who are new to this forum, who are potentially vulnerable, can be hugely affected when reading things like that because it can cause other issues such as phonophobia. There's not enough energy in 25 dBA and below for it to ever be a threat to you or anyone else. An average silent room exposes people to higher energy levels than that because we are never surrounded by pure silence.

I post in these instances for that reason alone. Nobody needs to STFU if they have genuine opinions to share. That kind of thinking breeds a toxic echo-chamber-like environment.

 

I wish I could sleep in earplugs again. My tinnitus is so damn loud, distortions are so bad and I have so many noises that it's impossible. I wake up to droning tinnitus at 5am in earplugs without masking it.

That catches up with workdays fast.

 

I believe I was one of those vulnerable people and that was one factor as to why my phonophobia kept getting worse. I kept reading other people’s experience and I made the foolish mistake that it somehow applied to me as well. Like if someone wrote that the refrigerator noise in their home was making their tinnitus worse, I would apply that to me and instantly avoid that sound. It was very irrational and misguided on my part. Tinnitus is a very individual thing and everyone’s experience is different after all.

Fortunately, I’ve made great strides in correcting my phonophobia. Trivial sounds that I used to fear are being shrugged off now. My ability to process each person’s experience has also changed.

So in other words, I was a newbie when this all started, but I’ve grown a lot since then.